


Sister mine

by Dancing_Bean



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-03-19 07:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3602277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dancing_Bean/pseuds/Dancing_Bean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maria's mother died the day she was born. Her father resented her. But what about her brother?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tony Stark is 12 years old when his mother dies. It is the same day as his sister is pulled forcibly into the world in a rush of panic. The doctors talk about infection, sepsis, no chance.

His father just says "She's gone". Tony hears those words every time he closes his eyes, making his stomach swirl with sadness.

His tiny, tiny sister has infections as well, and they keep her in a box, surrounded by wires and tubes. Here the doctors mix words like 'premature' and 'low chance' with 'fighter' and 'stubborn'.

When he is allowed to visit, Tony can't see how anything that small can be a fighter. He stares through the plastic of the box at the thing his father says took his mother away. She has a tuft of dark hair, red skin, hands balled up into fists. Squinting eyes open briefly and seem to look at him for a moment.

As far as Tony can see, the baby didn't ask to be made, his father is the only person left who had any say in that. So blaming the baby seems irrational. And even if she wasn't supposed to be here yet, his mother was sick for days before she was born. So maybe it's not all the baby's fault. He looks up at his father, tall and gaunt with grief beside him.

His father just says "Call her Maria, after her mother."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony is 12 and a half when he learns to juggle.

It's not hard, apart from the challenge of including a many soft toys, plastic bricks and teething rings as he can. Maria watches him, blue eyes wide and fists waving as she tries to see all the movement and colours. It's the one thing he's found that almost always shuts her up.

She's not as small any more - the nurse talks about 'catching up' and 'where we want her to be'. Their nanny coos and calls her a big girl. That always gets her a blank, blue eyed stare. Tony has to say, his sister has already got a killer glare. He gets on the wrong end of that glare if he tries to confuse her, giving her blue blocks for red buckets, or hoops instead of balls. Apparently she is advanced.

She doesn't seem very advanced to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony is almost 13 when Maria escapes for the first time.

He doesn't know why everyone is so surprised - if they just paid some attention they would know how fast she can crawl now. They would know that she had to explore, and that the doctors were right; she is stubborn.

So he is the only one not panicking when the nanny discovers that she is missing. Even their father looks worried, pacing the halls with his glasses crooked and hair ruffled. It's actually quite funny, seeing all these grown-ups outsmarted by a baby.

Eventually he takes pity on them. There's only one room Maria hasn't been allowed in on this floor of the house: the study. Usually the door is kept locked, but Tony knows that their father has been in and out all day, trying to agree a big deal. She could easily have snuck in while he was distracted. He leads them right to her, sitting comfortably underneath their fathers desk. She grins and give a little bounce when she sees them, unconsciously turning on the cute factor (and she is cute, even Tony will admit that, with dark, slightly curly hair and big eyes that remind him of Mom). It gets her out of trouble with the adults anyway, even their father scoops her up for a hug before passing her to the nanny.

Tony gets extra ice-cream that night for being a helpful big brother. He decides not to tell them that it should have been obvious where she was. He's pretty sure she will give them plenty of repeat performances of today...


	4. Chapter 4

Tony is 13 when Maria says her first word.

He is doing homework at the table, the nanny playing with Maria on the floor when his father and Uncle Obadiah walk in. They are talking work, but his father pauses when he see's Tony.

"What are you doing tonight son?"

"Maths."

Maria, on seeing her father crawls rapidly over, pulling herself up using one of his legs.

"Da!" She says clearly, pointing up at his face

"Not now, Maria" Howard picked her up and returned her to the nanny, before continuing on with his conversation with Uncle Obadiah. Tony sees the small frown on Maria's face, before she allowed herself to be distracted by her bear.

 

Her second word is "No!", her third "bear" and fourth "bikkit". Her fifth word is "Tony", said very slowly and deliberately one evening as she stands holding onto the corner of the sofa, as though she doesn't want to get it wrong. Tony can't help but give a whoop of delight, startling her into losing her balance and plopping down, but her face lights up with a wide, gummy smile and she chants "tonytonytony" until it becomes a mash of nonsense syllables.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony is 14 when Maria makes a brief foray into the terrible twos.

They are at a science fair, he's showing one of his projects and their father is walking around with Maria in tow. The two of them have almost reached his stall when she sits, throws her head back and howls, refusing to move. Even from where he is Tony can see she's exhausted - walking is still relatively new to her and her legs are pretty short after all. Their father clenches his fists, turns and roars, startling her so much that she freezes, then he stalks off.

Tony sighs and squashes his disappointment. His father didn't even see his project, and it's a really good one this year. He hesitates for a minute, then goes over to where his baby sister is huddled, small hiccups of distress escaping her. Picking her up he goes back to his stall and finishes his stint there holding her on one hip. By the time he is done she has pillowed her head on his shoulder, thumb firmly in her mouth and the tears are drying on her long lashes.

She refuses to let him put her down.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony is 14 and a half when he walks past Maria's room and hears her talking to herself.

Peeking in he sees her curled around her bear with a big - upside down - book in front of her. She's mixing nonsense noises with words, and turning the pages is giving her a problem.

Their mother used to read to him, he remembers, with their father dropping by occasionally to say goodnight. He comes by less often now, and Tony doesn't think anyone has read Maria bedtime stories before. He wonders where she picked up the idea.

He hovers by the door for a moment, then goes in and picks a less ambitious book up. She watches him, wide eyed, confused. He settles next to her on the bed and removes the big book, replacing it with his new one. And then reads to her. She keeps watching him, but by the end of the story her thumb is in her mouth and her eyes blink sleepily.

Tony tries to read to her every night after that. Sometimes he's busy. Sometimes he forgets. Once when he didn't turn up for a few days Maria trails to his workroom, book in hand, dragging her bear. She just stood in the doorway as if waiting to be sent away again. He reads to her curled up on a blanket on the floor, then carries her back to her room once she falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony is 15 when he goes away to study.

He's looking forward to it, really. He is. Ok, so he will miss his father, but he's not really around much at the moment, so only it will only be a little bit. He will probably miss Jarvis and the nanny more, which is just depressing. And it will be a relief to have some peace and quiet away from his sister. He won't miss her much, he's sure of it.

He's already explained to their father how she likes two stories at night, one you pick and one she picks. And how you have to watch her, because she will count the pages to make sure she gets a long one (she still might not talk much but Tony is pretty sure she is advanced now. She is a Stark after all). Howard had just grunted, so Tony repeated everything to Jarvis, who promised to do his best. He’s sure she will be alright.

His father comes to see him off, with Jarvis (out of uniform) carrying Maria. He shakes his father's hand, and gets a clap on the shoulder. Jarvis nods with a smile, and passes him Maria.

"Tony go?" She has that little frown on, and the corners of her mouth are slightly turned down like when she's puzzled about something.

"Yes. I'll be back soon though. Promise" He kisses her head and hands her back to the butler.

She struggles a bit, eyes wide. "Tony stay" she says insistently, a slightly frantic edge to her tone now. "Stay"

"I can't squirt. I'll see you soon"

He turns and walks away with his bag, not looking back. He knows that his father will already be climbing back into the car, Jarvis will be watching proudly and Maria will be staring, small frown in place, not able to understand what's happening.

He doesn't need to see any of that.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony is 17 the first time Maria beats him at chess.

He's playing with his father, the board balancing on a low table between their two armchairs. Maria is lounging on the top of his. He has already pushed her off twice for kicking him in the head, but she just bounced back up with a grin.

He is about to lose for the third time when Maria points and says "Move the horsey bit there."

He looks. He would have seen that move after maybe three more, but by then their father would have checked him. He glances up at Howard, who raises one eyebrow. Tony makes the move. Five minutes later he has won. He looks at Maria, who raises her eyebrow exactly like their father does.

"How long have you been playing chess?"

She shrugs, almost toppling herself from her perch "Never seen it before."

He pushes her off his chair again, but sets the board up for a new game. Their father stands and gestures for Maria to take his place. Then he stays and watches as his five year old, with much frowning and swinging of legs, beats Tony in 10 minutes.

Tony is now convinced she is advanced. And a bad winner.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony is 19 when Maria attends her first Stark event in public.

She’s all dolled up in a blue dress and is scowling fiercely. Tony can tell she’s not just annoyed about the dress, she’s nervous. Maria doesn’t like crowds. Or talking to people. Or putting on a show. Howard Stark’s daughter will be expected to be pretty, and smart, and sociable. She’s quick enough to know that. And stubborn enough to refuse to play along.

Tony’s not sure how she’s got away without being paraded around before now – he’s pretty sure he was brought along to these events as a prop when he was still in a basket. Which is possibly why he handles them better. Well, and the fact that he likes crowds, and talking, and putting on a show. He winks at her, trying to ease her frown before heading off to mingle.

Honestly after that he forgets she’s even there, he’s too caught up in the conversation, the flirting, the whole atmosphere of the event.

At least, until it’s time to sit down to eat. As he settles in his chair he feels something grab his ankle, and starts violently. Lifting the tablecloth to peer underneath he is met by blue eyes twinkling with mischief. He muffles a laugh but can’t help grinning back, before gesturing for her to scoot out.

“I’m not giving you leftovers like a dog at the dinner table squirt.”

She wriggles out, dress wrinkled and hair a mess, and sits down properly.

At least the scowl is gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony is 20 when Maria is sent away.

Their father isn’t around much. Neither is he. She spends far too much time alone, or with Jarvis and the nanny. She needs to be around people, to be challenged, to be stretched. At least, that's what Obadiah says. Their father agrees. She’s far too bright to be satisfied with a tutor in the long term. Tony can’t disagree, everything they say is true. Even so, it feels like a betrayal.

They have picked out a good school, one that get excellent results and has lots of extra activities. Tony scans the brochure once and throws it down. He has an uncomfortable feeling that he would have hated a place like that. Maybe it will suit his sister.

Maria is sure it won’t suit her. Although she is not the type to throw tantrums or sulk, she has been very quiet (more so than usual) since their father sat her down and explained what was happening. She has gotten very good – too good – at hiding her emotions, but her eyes always give her away, and the bewildered hurt he saw there will haunt Tony for a long time.

Tony does his best to avoid being alone with Maria – he’s sure she is going to ask him to do something, to talk to their father, to sort this out. He can’t. He doesn’t know what is right anymore, so he does his best to ignore the whole situation.

It’s only when she is being driven away by Jarvis (their father was too busy that day to take time off) that he realises he may have made a mistake.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony is 21 when his father dies. A car accident, they say. He is too shocked by the hole left in his life to really consider it. He thought he had given upon his dad years ago. Turns out he was wrong about that.

He stands by the grave between Maria and Jarvis. Maria, black dress miraculously unwrinkled, holds tightly to their grandmothers hand, her eyes shining with tears as the coffin is lowered into the ground.

Tony feels like if one more person gives him that fake smile as they say how sorry they are he will not be held responsible for his actions. His jaw clenches with anger as he see a particularly smarmy ex-business partner of their fathers talking loudly to Maria. She's 9, she shouldn't have to deal with this. Not stopping to think twice he strides over and places himself firmly next to his sister, arm around her shoulders. She glances up, wide-eyed, and leans into his side gratefully as he glares at the man until he mumbles excuses and leaves. 

Tony feels a little arm slip around his waist. He can't stop the tears that fall.


End file.
